The MLB announced on Monday that Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes and New York Yankees pitcher Luis Gil were named the 2024 MLB Rookies of the Year for the National and American Leagues.
This season marks the first time since Craig Kimbrel and Jeremy Hellickson won the awards in 2011 that two pitchers were named the Rookies of the Year, but this season is also the first time since 1981 that each of those pitchers were starters for their teams, according to CBS Sports.
Skenes accepted the award on Zoom and said it was an “honor” to be named as one of the two best rookies in the MLB and his success was a “product of showing up each day and doing the work,” adding that he trusts that the “results are going to take care of themselves,” per MLB.com.
The rookie phenom had one of the most impressive rookie seasons in recent memory, finishing the year with a record of 11-3 with 170 strikeouts and leading all NL pitchers with a 1.96 ERA.
Skenes also led all NL pitchers who appeared in a minimum of 130 innings in “strikeout rate (33.1% of batters and 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings), WHIP (0.95) and strikeout rate minus walk rate (26.8%), all while holding hitters to a .198 batting average,” per MLB.com.
This impressive season resulted in Skenes being named the starting pitcher for the NL All-Star Team and he is currently one of three finalists for the NL CY Young Award.
Pirates owner Bob Nutting said in a statement that it was an “exciting day” for everyone involved, noting that Skenes performed better than anyone expected when he was drafted.
“While expectations for Paul were certainly high, he exceeded what most thought was possible during his first Major League season. He brought tremendous competitiveness and talent to our pitching staff. We’re extremely proud of all that Paul has accomplished during his historic rookie season. I look forward to the great future ahead for him and our organization,” he added, per ESPN.
Gil also put together a special rookie season after finishing the year with a record of 15-7 and an ERA of just 3.50, striking out 171 batters and allowing only 104 total hits during the season.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone released a statement in which he said Gil had an “amazing season,” adding that he “worked so hard to put himself in a strong position heading into spring training after coming back from Tommy John surgery.”
“Without a guarantee of a Major League spot, he absolutely kicked in the door this spring and went on to have a phenomenal rookie season. Luis continued to mature and develop all year and was one of the pillars of our rotation. I can’t wait to see what’s next for such a talented, young pitcher,” wrote Boone, per CBS Sports.
The MLB will continue presenting awards throughout the week with the Manager of the Year Awards being announced tonight, the Cy Young Awards being announced on Wednesday, and the MVP Awards being announced on Thursday.
https://www.mlb.com/news/paul-skenes-nl-rookie-of-the-year-2024
https://www.espn.com/mlb/player/stats/_/id/4719507/paul-skenes